Wilson Center Experts

William E. Pomeranz

William Pomeranz is the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. In addition, Dr. Pomeranz teaches Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Georgetown University.

Dr. Pomeranz holds a B.A. from Haverford College, a M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, a J.D. cum laude from American University, and a Ph.D. in Russian History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Dr. Pomeranz practiced international law in the United States and Moscow, Russia. He advised clients on investment in the Russian Federation as well as on U.S. anti-money laundering requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. export controls, and homeland security. He also served as Program Officer for Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus at the National Endowment for Democracy from 1992-1999, where he evaluated grant applications and implemented projects in such areas as: the rule of law, pro-market reforms, human rights, the environment, independent media, civic education, and the development of independent trade unions.

Dr. Pomeranz heads up the Kennan Institute’s rule of law program, which has conducted major conferences on the Russian Constitution, separation of powers in Russia and Ukraine, the Jackson-Vanik amendment, and the influence of the European Court of Human Rights on Russian law. His research interests include Russian legal history as well as current Russian commercial and constitutional law. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the emergence and development of the pre-revolutionary Russian legal profession (the advokatura). He also has written extensively on post-Soviet legal developments, including Russian foreign investment laws, judicial review, federalism, and corruption. His articles have been published in the Russian Review, Slavonic and East European Review, Review of Central and East European Law, Demokratizatsiya, American University International Law Review,Human Rights Brief, Russian Analytical Digest, and Problems of Post-Communism.

Related Content for this Expert

Russia highly values its BRICS membership and wants to deepen its cooperation even as the economic dynamism behind the original concept has begun to run out of steam, writes William Pomeranz on CNN.com. more

While low expectations surround the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg, there is one timely matter that resonates with Washington, Moscow, and the entire G20 — the continuing fight against offshore tax havens, writes William Pomeranz. more

Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny received his five-year prison sentence last week, to the surprise of no one. After all, the Russian criminal system has a 99 percent conviction rate once a case goes to trial, and it was highly unlikely that a Russian judge would buck the system at this late date. more

The Russian Duma approved its much anticipated amnesty for entrepreneurs, seeking to halt the legal onslaught against the Russian business community. But the amnesty comes with considerable strings attached and does not address any of the fundamental legal and institutional deficiencies that created the problem in the first place, writes William Pomeranz. more

"It’s been one year since Vladimir Putin’s formal return to the Russian presidency in May 2012. What he originally envisioned as a time to cement his legacy has turned into a much messier period of seeking a new equilibrium," writes William Pomeranz in The National Interest. more

William Pomeranz, Acting Director of the Kennan Institute, discusses political and economic trends in post-Soviet countries. Lauren McCarthy, research scholar with the Kennan Institute, discusses continuing problems with human trafficking and slave labor in the Russian Federation. more

It turns out that the European Union settlement that left Cyprus’s banking sector in shambles has done Moscow a big favor. Not only did the EU take down a major offshore banking center, it helped President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to return to Russia any money stashed away in offshore bank accounts, writes William Pomeranz in this opinion piece. more

Russia is eager to protect large deposits from its citizens and businesses in Cyprus’s banks, but Putin has also made a priority of bringing offshore money back to Russia. In reality, the Cyprus crisis runs not only through Europe but also through Russia, which may yet extract a high price in any final resolution. more

Kennan Institute Acting Director Will Pomeranz analyzes Russia’s less than enthusiastic reaction to joining the WTO, and assesses how Russia will balance its perceived national economic interests within the constraints of the international trading system. more

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Putin believes that Russian sovereignty can be best protected by its growing isolation. However, his fundamental misunderstanding of how the post-imperial, post-World War Two international system works has already created serious economic consequences in Russia, writes William E. Pomeranz.

Since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was brought down over east Ukraine, Putin has been under intense pressure to persuade pro-Russian separatists accused by the West of shooting it down to stop fighting. William Pomeranz talks about what he thinks Putin will do next.

"Sanctions have definitely found Russia’s Achilles’ heel, and with harsher sanctions looming in the aftermath of flight MA17, Putin is finding it increasingly difficult to craft an effective reply," writes Will Pomeranz.

NEP suddenly is back in vogue but in a global economy, NEP’s uniquely domestic approach to solving economic problems may send out the wrong message at the wrong time to the international business community, writes Will Pomeranz.

“Clearly, it still has nuclear weapons, it has a seat in United Nations and it has the ability to influence international affairs, but Russia really doesn't have the economic power or the influence abroad to really be the number one geostrategic enemy of the United States,” William Pomeranz said on C-SPAN.

“The increasing international cries to open up the site will eventually have some sort of impact on Putin and that he will do his best to try to allow international investigators to have access to the site,” Kennan Institute deputy director William Pomeranz said on Lunch Break on WSJ Live.

Somewhere between the federal principles espoused by the provisional government and the demand for regional sovereignty displayed in the Donetsk and Luhansk referendums lies a middle ground that may resolve this crisis, writes Will Pomeranz.

"Ironically, by violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and threatening its borders, Putin has now done more to promote Ukrainian identity than any current national politician could have ever imagined," writes Will Pomeranz.

"What's happened in Crimea is not an immediate reaction to human rights violations or a structured vote on a referendum but a very hurried operation that is currently being conducted while it's being occupied militarily," Will Pomeranz said on C-SPAN's Washington Journal.

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Four leading experts discussed the rule of law in Russia, with a focus on the legal reforms currently underway and how they impact U.S.-Russian relations, Russia’s democratic development and future economic prosperity. Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia continues to struggle with the implementation of the rule of law and President Dmitry Medvedev has made this his signature initiative, using it as a means to distinguish his presidency from that of his immediate predecessor, Vladimir Putin

Cosponsored by the Embassy of the Russian Federation, this conference discussed newly-available information regarding the history and diplomacy of relations between the United States and Russia during the Second World War.

The Jackson-Vanik amendment to the 1974 Trade Act denied permanent normal trading relations to non- market economies that restricted emigration rights, and remains in force today for several states, including Russia. At a 3 February 2010 event cosponsored by the Kennan Institute and the Wilson Center on the Hill program, three experts discussed the legacy of Jackson- Vanik, and how the United States can contribute to improving the human rights atmosphere in Russia without reverting to the dynamics of the Cold War.

At a 4 February 2010 conference co-sponsored by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and the Kennan Institute, a panel of experts explored the legacy of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and re-assessing the human rights situation in Russia today.

This edition of the Kennan Institute Occasional Paper Series, edited by F. Joseph Dresen and William E. Pomeranz, features the edited transcript of the 4 February 2010 conference on the Jackson-Vanik legislation. (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Kennan Institute Occasional Paper Series #305, 2011. PDF 80 pages.)

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William Pomeranz, Acting Director of the Kennan Institute, discusses political and economic trends in post-Soviet countries. Lauren McCarthy, research scholar with the Kennan Institute, discusses continuing problems with human trafficking and slave labor in the Russian Federation.